a song he plays on the rambo soundtrack.. "its a long road" also shows some very very great drumming from him.. its incredible how his toms and rhytm just seem to flow with the music.. none like him anymore...

Here's a question that asked to Steve Lukather and his answer kinda explain what made Jeff so great!

"Hey Luke! What makes a good drummer?"

Luke: Well, groove, TIME, FEEL and taste. Chops are great and a plus, but that does NOT make a great drummer!!! I have been blessed to play with the best there is on the planet at one time or another. I don't know why but I guess "right place right time". I was raised sitting and playing with Jeff Porcaro when I was 15. Not too many cats are that lucky. From there I was turned on to all the greats, young and old. Hell, Ringo was my first drum hero and his work still holds up!

Here's a question that asked to Steve Lukather and his answer kinda explain what made Jeff so great!

My best friend has taught for 27 years. He was heavily influenced by Gadd, Seraphine and Jeff Porcaro. Dave told me:

"I've seen TOO many drummers RUIN a solid groove with too many notes. Get a basic
1/2/3/4 pattern going just snare and kick---and lock that down FIRST; the rest will follow."

The man is correct.
LUKE hit the nail SQUARELY on the head. I've said this before and I'll type it again just because. Two words in the English Language describe Jeff Porcaro's playing.

"Impeccably Elegant".

WHY?
MASSIVE chops.....reigned in....for the sake of the groove---not that the chops never showed up-they DID--just quietly sometimes. Then there are times when his playing just rips the top of your head right off. ("Calling Elvis".... "I don't Hear You" (Boz), "How Many Times" -that fill 4:06 into it....). There's a Jazz Shuffle example on the Hal Leonard DVD----he demos that and then turns right around and applies it to a contemporary tune.
A JAZZ shuffle turned inside out! But THE best example of him turning things upside down?

"Jake to the Bone"..........COUNTING that is a pain in the @$$! It was all "feel".
There was a rockin' cat that NEVER once betrayed his Jazz roots, and those of us who remain are better for it.

I really been into listening to the great jeff porcaro playing with Toto and have been really inspired by his amazing playing...

I was wondering if anyone could tell of other albums, bands, etc of which jeff has played with so i can further check him out and study his playing and hear the legend in action...

thx

Oli

Hi!
I'm also very exited about Jeff's wonderful playing and have some records he've done with several artist (among them all). I highly recomend that you check out the stuf he did in the mid-70's with Steely Dan, that's really colourful and musical playing. Another record is "Take It To Heart" with the vocalist Michael McDonald, wonderful musicmanship with (offcourse) Jeff on drums and Abe Laboriel on bass and guitarist Michael Landau. He've also done some great work with Larry Carlton that i like. Check out Michael Jackson's "Thriller", too. Though this is a real best-seller and what you hear is simply the pure and wonderful voice of Jeff Porcaro.

But try to check out this by your own, a great site is http://www.povlab.org/jeff.porcaro/. Here you can find a complete list av all studio gigs he've done; what tunes he plays on, the release year and so on. Great site! I guess you've looked on this site and at the same time have downloaded the short film clips. They're tooken from his drum instruction video (released in 1989) and it's teriffic.

Towards the end (around 4 minutes), after the piano solo when the bassist starts doing those funky octaves and jeff opens the hi hat (disco beat) is so darn smoooooth ahh! And Jeff's brother Steve on the synth to stage right is a riot to watch!!

So many good examples. With a resume as long as his was, it's almost impossible to pick out a few favorites. He plays every track on the 'Katy Lied' album by Steely Dan with the exception of 'Any World' which Hal Blaine tracked. 'Lowdown by Boz Scaggs of course. Toto's 'Pamela' isn't as well known but worth finding.

If you can find his Star Licks video (I think it's finally on DVD as well) it's really worth it. You get to see his playing up close. His right hand has perfect technique. Those one-hand 16th note grooves are killer!

Towards the end (around 4 minutes), after the piano solo when the bassist starts doing those funky octaves and jeff opens the hi hat (disco beat) is so darn smoooooth ahh! And Jeff's brother Steve on the synth to stage right is a riot to watch!!

I don't get that youtube guy's selection of cuts from the DVD. Why no Rosanna? Why no Africa? Why no Hold The Line? The version of Africa in particular is absolutely sick, I personally believe Jeff grooves harder on it than on any other song at any other time...and that's saying something.

Location: Manama, Bahrain Lebanon but originally from Neuchatel, Switzerland.

Posts: 68

Re: Jeff Porcaro

Quote:

Originally Posted by Womble

Right on! I'm always surprised and disappointed when I come across 'Who's your favourite guitarist?' type threads/surveys, because Lukather is never mentioned. The guy's a monster. I'm pretty sure he was also on 'I keep forgettin'', right? Ridiculous rhythm playing.

Mlehnertz, have you seen the Los Lobotomys DVD with Simon Phillips and David Garfield? It's most amusing, Philips obviously plays his arse off, Garfield seems to be completely whacked out on coke, but Luke holds it all down...his ability to play with taste, balls, and yet also restraint is very impressive. And on the TOTO live DVD I mentioned, Lukather does Little Wing as a tribute to Hendrix and Vaughn....for me it's the best guitar solo ever.

David Garfield is one of my best friends and he's been COMPLETELY sober since 1990. At the time LL toured with Luke and Philips, i.e. 1994, he had been 4 years sober. Just to set the record straight as there is no way that he could have been whacked out on coke. But David has a "strange" look in his eyes when he plays, that's sure :-)

Location: Manama, Bahrain Lebanon but originally from Neuchatel, Switzerland.

Posts: 68

Re: Jeff Porcaro

Quote:

Originally Posted by Womble

Well I only said he 'seemed' to be whacked off his head on gack, and that's a statement I'll stand by ;) But thanks for the info, that's good to hear, and I mean no disrespect to your friend.

No problem ! I just wanted to set the record straight.

Speaking of Garfield and Porcaro, I can only recommend everyone to check out David's "Tribute To Jeff" album. It features 75 of the most famous studio musicians playing stuff ranging from Hendrix to bebop. There is a great drumming piece with 21 drummers/percussionist.... some names : Laboriel Jr., Ferrone, Gadd, Vega, Colaiuta, Weckl, Erskine, Conte, Castro, Purdie...

The album comes in two versions : a) the original released in 1997 and b) "Revisited" released in 2006. The newest version features two songs (Boz Scaggs's "Lowdown" and Steely Dan's "Babylon Sisters") with vocals from Santana's Alex Ligertwood + bonus tracks. The above two songs are featured as instrumental on the original recording.

It is a wonderful tribute to one of the greatest drummers of all time. Check out www.creatchy.com if you're interested.

David Garfield has always featured outstanding musicians on all his recordings (solo, Karizma, Los Lobotomys). His most recent solo album, "Giving Back", features a song called "Tune For Tony" that has Gregg Bissonnette and Vinnie Colaiuta double drumming.

I don't get that youtube guy's selection of cuts from the DVD...Why no Africa?...The version of Africa in particular is absolutely sick, I personally believe Jeff grooves harder on it than on any other song at any other time...

Bits to check out: the fill into the first chorus, the fill at the end of the keyboard solo, and the entire percussion solo at the end; I think Jeff's groove beneath that solo is the most perfect time playing I've ever heard.

EDIT: I'm talking about the percussion solo that finishes the song, not the separate percussion solo that follows it!

Paich's vocal is SWEET, I've always loved his voice. He had a rock-solid groove to lay that down on.

As for Jeff's playing?
Why does this groove smoke like it does?

It's all about the hats on the intro---("& one")those hats don't bark; they hiss.
That's a slinky, snake-like little thing. Having read Greg Rule's DRUM! article (1991), I remember Jeff's quote that he still hadn't gotten his hi-hat foot technique where he wanted it.....but, to my ear, he was flawless.
**WATCH MIKE: He's just so locked into his brother's playing he can't help but move......!

The colours Jeff got with just the hat.............WOW, folks.
He'd tell Robyn Flans he had no chops. HIs playing proved him wrong on so many levels.
We could all learn from that modesty and humility.

The only Steely album I've got with Jeff is Katy Lied, and I gotta say it sounded pretty weak to me. I only listened to it a couple of times. A friend said Gaucho is much better...

Give it at least a couple more listens, you won't be disappointed (unless SD music isn't your bag to begin with). The mix is a bit flat overall, but the songs are great and Jeff acts as the perfect accompanist as always. Check out the slow blues groove on "Chain Lightning."